


Veggie Fajitas

by CatHeights



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-07
Updated: 2010-02-07
Packaged: 2017-10-07 02:38:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatHeights/pseuds/CatHeights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John's missing, and they expect him to be able to function on veggie fajitas. Written for picfor1000's challenge 8.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Veggie Fajitas

"Veggie fajitas! They expect me to function on veggie fajitas! Don't they know brilliance needs protein, not limp peppers and onions." The anger in Rodney's voice drew every eye in the room. He didn't care. This was wholly unacceptable.

"McKay. Come on." With a firm grip, Ronon pulled him over to a table.

"What are you doing?"

It was Teyla who answered. "Rodney, please, sit next to me." She sat down and waited patiently for him to do so. When he did, she touched his arm, rubbing it slightly. "We will find him."

His throat clenched. "I know. Of course we will."

Ronon squeezed his shoulder. "I'm going to the kitchen. I'll get you something better to eat."

They were taking care of him. They shouldn't. For all his brilliance, he'd been worthless so far.

Lorne and Zelenka joined them. "Everything okay?" Lorne asked.

Rodney nodded.

"Here." Ronon put a sandwich in front of him, along with two pudding cups.

"Thanks." He looked around at the concerned faces, and it was both comforting and horrifying. Seeing everyone made it more glaring that one messy-haired, impossible Colonel was missing, but it also reminded him he wasn't alone. Except, he was alone, because he out of everyone should have figured it out by now — he'd been there.

Rodney bit into the sandwich, but it might as well have been a limp veggie fajita as he tasted nothing.

*~*~*~*~  
"I thought you said there was a power a source here."

Rodney's downturned mouth twitched, but he didn't look up from his laptop. "I did. And if you would listen to me, instead of pining for the Pegasus version of a Cosmo, it might get through your incredibly thick skull that I'm trying to determine why the source disappeared from our scans."

"So right now, no power source."

Rodney stood. "If you think this is helping, it's not." He poked Sheppard's chest and then sat back down on the large rock currently serving as his working area.

While Sheppard didn't apologize, Rodney knew the switch to a softer tone was in itself an apology. "What's got you worried?"

"Those readings — extremely impressive. You don't just shut off something like that. The energy was either expended, or it's cloaked." He focused back on his laptop. "Hmm, maybe if I…."

"Cloaked? Rodney." 

He looked up and noticed John's weapon at ready and his gaze scanning the surroundings. Rodney never got to ask what had suddenly put Sheppard on alert, because the next thing he knew Teyla was shaking him and calling his name.

With her help, he sat up. "Ouch, my head." He closed his eyes against the pounding. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us," Ronon said. "Where's Sheppard?"

Rodney's eyes flew open, pain ignored. "What? I was just talking to him." He struggled to his feet, and sure enough saw no sign of Sheppard. What he did see made his heart pound and hands shake — blood everywhere. It was splattered across the ground and the rock he'd been sitting on, but there were no bodies, no Sheppard, and his laptop was gone.

"What the hell?"

"There's no trail." Ronon stood from where he was kneeling.

"We need backup." Teyla put an arm around Rodney. "And we should have the doctor check you out."

Rodney shook her off. "I'm fine. Let's go. I need to know if there's a ship in orbit." He needed to find Sheppard now.

Except, weeks later he still had no idea what had happened to Sheppard. It was as if he'd just vanished.

*~*~*~*~  
Six weeks of nothing, and then the answers came within the span of a day. It started when Lorne's team overheard a man brag about having a tame Ancestor, who powered all sorts of things for them. His cohort had snorted at the word tame, muttering more like a caged wild beast.

After some persuasive questioning and Woolsey's agreeing to make the two gentleman "guests" of Atlantis, they had a gate address and a plan. The gate was shielded, but he had codes, a particularly set needed to be entered based on the sound emitted to your transmitter. It was a convoluted, stupid process that was trying the last of Rodney's patience. But he didn't dare let that distract him, because all it would take was for him to miss one sequence, and he'd have to start all over again. For all he knew that delay could cost John his life.

Finally, the transmitter emitted an all clear sound. "Go," Rodney said to Lorne, and within seconds they were through the gate, cloaking, and he'd jammed the shielding that surrounded the citadel where Sheppard was being held.

It was all a blur to Rodney. The sounds of Ronon's gun and Lorne's team's stunners were background noise against his mental chant of "John." However, when they got to the area where Sheppard was supposedly being held, it was empty. Rodney was sure he was going to have a breakdown.

"Come on, McKay. He must be out and about. We'll find him." Lorne put a hand on Rodney's shoulder, shoving slightly, and Rodney was grateful for the momentum.

Of course John found them, looking remarkably healthy. "Took you long enough," Sheppard said, the easy grin taking the sharpness out of the remark.

Lorne laughed. "Good to see you Colonel."

"Why weren't you in the cell?" Rodney's voice wavered.

"It's good to see you too, McKay. Seems someone disabled the shielding on the citadel, and I took advantage of the distraction."

"Someone! Me, that's who."

Sheppard clapped Rodney on the shoulder. "Thanks. Come on, I've had enough of Drysan hospitality. I'm ready to go home."

"Yes. Let's go home."

*~*~*~*~  
He followed Sheppard into his room. "It was horrible while you were gone. They served veggie fajitas — twice!"

Sheppard smirked. "Not enough protein to feed all that brain power."

Rodney felt the empty spot in his chest disappear. "Yeah."

Sheppard squeezed Rodney's shoulders and kissed him. "And it sucked being away from you too."


End file.
